Hughes eligible for parole in 13 years

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This article was published 06/06/2022 (1568 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Robert Hughes will spend 13 years in prison before he is eligible for parole after being found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his wife.

“The accused killed his spouse in their home during their separation. Betty [Hughes] suffered significant injuries and would have suffered before she died. She was beaten and cut. No effort of the accused was made to give her medical attention,” Justice Scott Abel said during the Monday morning sentencing hearing in the Brandon Court of Queen’s Bench.

Robert Hughes, 65, was found guilty by a jury of killing his wife, Betty Hughes, after a trial last December. After killing her, he tried to end his own life by cutting the gas line and blowing up their east-end house. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The automatic sentence for a second-degree murder conviction is life in prison. While Hughes can apply for parole after 13 years, it is not guaranteed and he will be serving a prison sentence for the rest of his life, Abel said. He also noted Hughes will be 78 before he can make the application.

“Betty should have been safe in her home. She should have been able to make the decision and determination for herself to leave the relationship … The accused, by his actions, not only took that autonomy from Betty, but also took the life of Betty. The accused could have at any time left the residence. He did not.”

Crown attorney Christian Vanderhooft recommended a sentence of 17 years in prison before parole eligibility and defence lawyer Saul Simmonds recommended 10 years.

While the sentence imposed Monday is at the lower end of the range, Abel said it is not indicative of the value of Betty Hughes’ life.

“Betty’s life had value and meaning, regardless of my determination today. That value is reflected in her support present in court, in her children and in their love for their mother,” he told the court.

Hughes wore a black suit and grey striped tie as he sat in the accused’s box during the hearing. He looked at the gallery as he walked into the courtroom, but not on the way out.

On Oct. 22, 2019, Brandon firefighters responded to the east-end property after it blew up, the court heard over the course of the six-day trial in December. When they arrived, the walls of the house were blown out and Manitoba Hydro had to turn off the natural gas line.

Brandon Police Service Const. Travis Foster testified on the first day of the trial that Betty Hughes was found inside the destroyed house with multiple cuts and lying in a pool of blood.

Firefighters then saw Robert Hughes with a noose around his neck in the destroyed house, the court heard. He was transported to the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, where he was arrested by Brandon police on Oct. 25.

A pathologist testified Betty Hughes had more than a dozen injuries when she died, but the ultimate cause of death was blood loss from an 11.7-centimetre wound that extended from her eyebrow across her temple and into her ear.

He estimated Betty Hughes would have died of blood loss minutes after the cut. He was unable to tell where the person who inflicted the wound was standing, or how it happened, just that it was caused by a “weapon.”

Robert Hughes testified in his own defence during the trial. He alleged there was a prolonged struggle with his wife in the kitchen of their house, which he described as “World War III.” At the time, the two were in a strained relationship.

The couple’s son, Adam Hughes, remembered his mother for her kindness and dedication to her children in a sentencing hearing last month. He said his life has been permanently changed by the murder.

Abel said Monday that Robert Hughes was not credible during his trial testimony and his account of the events were not consistent with Betty Hughes’ injuries.

Since the trial, Robert Hughes has accepted his circumstances and understands the seriousness but maintains he didn’t mean to kill his wife, Abel said. He realizes he could have acted differently to come to a peaceful conclusion in the argument the night of the murder.

Abel said he hopes the family can begin to heal as the court process comes to an end.

Family members who attended court declined to comment after the verdict was read Monday morning.

Abel also banned Robert Hughes from owning firearms for the rest of his life and ordered him to provide a DNA sample to police.

» dmay@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @DrewMay_